No guarantee of Finglas Luas by 2029, says NTA

Wayne O'Connor
– 02 May 2018 02:30 AM

There are plans to extend Luas services to Finglas

There is no guarantee new Luas services to Finglas will become operational by 2029, the National Transport Authority (NTA) has said, despite a local TD claiming he had assurances the project was being brought forward.

The NTA wrote to Fianna Fail this week, saying an intended operational date for the expanded Luas service cannot be provided until the Government's next capital plan is finalised.

The current plan only runs to 2027, with the NTA saying new Luas roll-out dates can only be confirmed once spending plans for the period after 2027 are confirmed.

Fine Gael TD Noel Rock said last week that he had met with senior NTA staff and was given assurances that elements of the Finglas Luas scheme were being brought forward.

He has been criticised by Fianna Fail councillor Paul McAuliffe, who claimed Mr Rock is making false promises.

Focus

"This is a really positive story, but there's no money identified between now and 2027 for the construction of the Luas," Mr McAuliffe said.

Mr Rock said his focus was on getting a route secured and to have lands identified for the construction of the scheme. He added that he is satisfied this would take place next year.

"I am confident we will be able to speed up the process," he said.

It came as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar called on Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the NTA to find an alternative route for the Metro North project so that it will not cause disruption for a local GAA club.

Plans for the MetroLink project include using the grounds of Na Fianna GAA club for tunnel-boring machines for six years to construct an underground station and the 26km rail line.

The proposals have been criticised by locals, and the Taoiseach said he wants to see new plans drawn up.